Technically HR: Biden administration releases guidelines for bringing AI to work

President Biden, along with the Department of Labor (DOL), last week released a new set of AI principles to guide employers as more companies look to deploy AI in the workplace.

The recommendations are designed to protect workers and ensure they’ve got a “seat at the table” when businesses are determining how the technology will be used and developed. HR leaders can look to the principles as a baseline for ethical AI use.

“They are viewed as best practices. They are not viewed as actual law at this present moment,” said Eric Reicin, president of BBB National Programs, a nonprofit organization that oversees a number of independent self-regulatory programs, including its own program on responsible AI use in hiring and recruiting.

In October 2023, President Biden issued an executive order on the “safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence”; in it, the president directed a number of federal agencies to prepare reports and guidance documents around the technology within 180 days.

The Department of Labor was directed to “develop and publish principles and best practices for employers that could be used to mitigate AI’s potential harms to employees’ well-being and maximize its potential benefits.”

The principles released by the DOL include:

• Centering worker empowerment
• Ethically developing AI
• Establishing AI governance and human oversight
• Ensuring transparency in AI use
• Protecting labor and employment rights
• Using AI to enable workers
• Supporting workers impacted by AI
• Ensuring responsible use of worker data

The White House noted in a statement that Microsoft and Indeed have already agreed to develop AI tech with these principles in mind.

“While we appreciate the administration’s efforts to establish best practices and principles using the AI systems, which is a critical effort...we would encourage additional guidance with more detailed guidance to the employer–employee community,” Reicin told HR Brew.

Reicin pointed to the principle of “transparency,” noting that the president’s guidance provides that employers “should be transparent with workers and job-seekers about the AI systems that are being used in the workplace.” But the guidance does not describe how or what this disclaimer should look like or how often one should be used.

Reicin pointed to the BBB National Programs’ own set of guidelines launched last summer, which he contends better detail best practices and recommendations for employers.

Zoom out. Employers, when considering what automation and AI technologies to bring to the workplace, should consider a myriad of factors—and the considerations, like the technology, are ever growing. The Biden administration’s non-binding guidance provides another offering of considerations.

The most basic foundational considerations, according to John Rood, founder and CEO of Proceptual, a firm working with companies to navigate emerging AI regulation, would include focusing on transparency, explainability, and bias when putting AI into practice at the workplace.

The Future of Privacy Forum last fall, in concert with HR tech companies like ADP, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Workday, released its own set of guidance with best practices for AI deployment.

“I would encourage HR professionals to be very thoughtful when they choose off the shelf AI tools in their processes,” Reicin said.

Reicin said HR pros, when considering using AI at work, should ask vendors for information about the development of AI tools, including how and how often they were tested. Before procuring new AI tech, figure out what information will be available to the HR team to ensure the tool is doing its job and “expanding the pool of applicants, expanding the opportunities for you to create a great workplace,” he said.